[SOLVED] GPU Sends No Signal

[xAragon]

Spoiler: My PC Specs: (3 Years Old)

CPU: Intel i5-6500
GPU: Sapphire Nitro R9 390
RAM: HyperX Fury 8GB 2133MHz DDR4
Motherboard: B150M-A
Power Supply: Seasonic 620W 80+ Bronze S12II

It all started 2 weeks ago.
I noticed that my PC would freeze and go black screen whenever the server's map is changed in CS:GO.
I thought it's just a game problem since I found a lot of posts on the internet of people having this problem, so my short-term solution was to disconnect from the server just before the map changed and then reconnect to the server and it worked.
A week later I played Prey (the first time I tried a non CS:GO game since the problem) and after a few minutes the blackscreen-freeze happened. That's when I figured out it wasn't just a CS:GO problem.
I decided I'll try to reinstall my GPU drivers using DDU.
I also thought I'll open my PC case to see if there's anything wrong and clean it from a lot of dust it had inside on the way using a hair dryer on cold mode. I also disconnected the PSU and GPU (applied a little too much force I think when disconnecting the GPU from the PCI-E slot) so that I can clean the case more thoroughly.
When I reconnected everything and booted my screen said it got no signal. When I tried to connect the HDMI cable to the MOBO it worked.

Now, I can't remember if I used DDU to uninstall my drivers before my GPU stopped working or after (I think it was before) so I'm not sure if it could've affected the problem.
My GPU wasn't recognizable by the BIOS or Device Manager.
I couldn't reinstall the drivers since AMD's software didn't detect any AMD GPU.

For a few days I tried EVERYTHING:
I made sure that all the PSU cables are connected in the right place,
I tried switching the PSU to GPU cable with a new one,
I tried using both an HDMI and a DisplayPort,
I tried switching the RAM to another slot (no idea how that could help, I was pretty desperate haha)
I even tried to boot Ubuntu from a USB to make sure it's not a problem with my Windows Installation / drivers (too lazy to format my PC).

Unfortunately my motherboard has only 1 PCI-E express and I don't have another PC or a friend with one who lives close, so I couldn't (and still can't) test the GPU in another system to test if it works.

I got to a conclusion that It's probably my GPU because of the problems I had in games and since the PC worked fine, and the only thing that didn't is the GPU.
So I did a mistake and bought a new Sapphire Pulse 5700 XT (for 600$!) today thinking I can finally play again after a while I couldn't.
And... after connecting my new GPU turned out I was wrong and wasted my 600$...
The GPU LED turned on and the fans spun (unlike the R9 390, who's fans werent spinning) but still the same problem.
No signal, GPU not recognized and I can't install drivers.

I'm pretty upset about wasting those 600$ since the R9 390 is enough for my gaming needs atm. I think I'm going to try and sell the 5700 XT for 550$

Now I still need to figure out if the problem is the PSU, or the PCI-E slot.
The LED on the 5700 XT lights even without the PSU connected to the GPU, so it gets it's power from the MOBO (which means the PCI-E isn't completely dead)
But the fans start spinning when I connected the PSU to the GPU,
So I'm still not sure which one is the cause for all of this.
Would be happy if you could help me figure it out so I won't waste any more money.

I added 2 images of my PCI-E slot in case anyone can find a problem there.
I checked it both from the front and the back and couldn't find anything wrong.

 

[Digicats]

The slot looks fine but that doesn't mean there isn't something wrong with it. I have an asus board as well, though we might have different BIOS the settings options should be the same. If you can get into the BIOS click on the Advanced tab -> System Agent Configuration -> Graphics Configuration -> Primary Monitor should be on Auto. If it's not, turn it on Auto then find wherever it gives you the option to click "save changes and exit." If it's not on AUTO and you change it over and save it it may still not fix it, I don't know. Just the first thing I thought of.

Otherwise i'd try connecting a different PSU if you have one from a previous build or something and seeing if it works. If it does then it's the obvious. Not everyone keeps power supplies though so I get that you might not have one. If you have an older GPU that doesn't require extra 6 or 8 pin power connectors then try that and see if it works just off the power from the motherboard. If it doesn't it might be the board or the monitor so I'd use an old monitor or find a friend who's willing to let you borrow one for 30 seconds to test it out. If that's not it, clrcmos and see if it does anything for you. If that doesn't work then....

Yell at it.

I can't imagine that the new card you bought is also defective in the same exact way as the older one. This is just what I would do to try and figure it out with what I have on hand. I'm sure other people have better advice but this might get you started.

 

[xAragon]

The slot looks fine but that doesn't mean there isn't something wrong with it. I have an asus board as well, though we might have different BIOS the settings options should be the same. If you can get into the BIOS click on the Advanced tab -> System Agent Configuration -> Graphics Configuration -> Primary Monitor should be on Auto. If it's not, turn it on Auto then find wherever it gives you the option to click "save changes and exit." If it's not on AUTO and you change it over and save it it may still not fix it, I don't know. Just the first thing I thought of.

Otherwise i'd try connecting a different PSU if you have one from a previous build or something and seeing if it works. If it does then it's the obvious. Not everyone keeps power supplies though so I get that you might not have one. If you have an older GPU that doesn't require extra 6 or 8 pin power connectors then try that and see if it works just off the power from the motherboard. If it doesn't it might be the board or the monitor so I'd use an old monitor or find a friend who's willing to let you borrow one for 30 seconds to test it out. If that's not it, clrcmos and see if it does anything for you. If that doesn't work then....

Yell at it.

I can't imagine that the new card you bought is also defective in the same exact way as the older one. This is just what I would do to try and figure it out with what I have on hand. I'm sure other people have better advice but this might get you started.

First of all, thanks for taking your time in reading this and attempting to help. I really appreciate it.

This BIOS setting is already set to "Auto".
I tried setting it to PCI-E but that didn't help.
I also tried reseting all BIOS settings and still no success.

But, I did find this "PEG Port Configuration" which says "Not Present" next to PCIEX16_1.
Does that confirm that the problem is with the PCI-E slot? or does that mean something else than what I think it does?
Also, if it does mean that the PCI-E slot is not recognized then how does it power the LED on the 5700 XT (Like I said before, the LED lights up even if the GPU is not connected to the PSU, which means that it gets it's power from the motherboars through the PCI-E slot)?

 

[Digicats]

Is your BIOS updated?

I also looked around and found this post on linustechtips forums:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/528666-cant-get-graphics-card-to-give-a-graphical-out-put/

This guys has your same processor, almost the same card, and a similar motherboard. I checked the compatibility of your cpu + gpu and other than benchmarking results and low fps threads there weren't any complaints about it not working well together. I feel like it's the PCIe slot. If you plugged into the iGFX with the HDMI and you still were able to boot into windows just fine AND you tried two GPUS in the same slot with the same result, even with the lights on I think that's the issue. The only other thing I can think of is the CPU and the only way to test that is to take it out and put a different one in.

So I would update the BIOS first from here: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/B150M-A/HelpDesk_Download/

Select whatever OS you have and download the latest version. Normally it comes with a file name change program that automatically changes the file name to something the BIOS ez flash utility can read and you load it onto a flash drive with at least 8gb of free space and update it through the BIOS itself. It doesn't say to do that anywhere here on this download page like it did on mine when I updated so I would look up exactly how to load that file on the flashdrive for that particular bios update. You can always use the ASUS tech chat to ask how to do it properly as it will probably corrupt your BIOS if you do it wrong.

Gamersnexus made this video a while back that shows you the exact process for ASUS boards:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Ubqic8XiU

Before you do the update you'll need to clrcmos. Unplug your power cord from your PSU then hold down the PC power on button for like 5 seconds to clear out the left over power or whatever you want to call it. I couldn't see a button on your board or a jumper that clears the cmos so you'll need to remove the round battery that's just below the CPU and right of the LAN and Audio jacks for at least 30 seconds then plug it back in.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/B150M-A/

Once it's back in, plug the power cord back into your PSU, give it a few seconds to saturate the board. Plug in your USB with the properly loaded BIOS into one of the two USB 3.0 ports on the I/O. Boot to BIOS, open the Tool menu and select EZ Flash Utility. Select "Update Via USB." You'll see all storage devices here so navigate to your USB and select the file you loaded onto it. Click Okay -> Okay

This is important: Don't power down or otherwise let your PC lose power for any reason during this process. Don't remove the USB, don't touch anything until it completes. Obviously you can't predict the power going out but if it does mid update you've probably bricked your board. Yours probably doesn't have a back up BIOS to switch to so you need to be very careful. When it completes successfully it'll keep booting the computer a few times so don't panic, eventually if all goes right it'll boot to windows. If your card is plugged in and the BIOS was the issue it should recognize it.

If this doesn't work I would look into RMAing the board if you can. You said it's 3 years old so I don't know how viable that is.

I really hope this helps and I'm sorry if you already knew all this BIOS stuff.

 

[xAragon]

Is your BIOS updated?

I also looked around and found this post on linustechtips forums:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/528666-cant-get-graphics-card-to-give-a-graphical-out-put/

This guys has your same processor, almost the same card, and a similar motherboard. I checked the compatibility of your cpu + gpu and other then benchmarking results and low fps threads there weren't any complaints about it not working well together. I feel like it's the PCIe slot. If you plugged into the iGFX with the HDMI and you still were able to boot into windows just fine AND you tried two GPUS in the same slot with the same result, even with the lights on I think that's the issue. The only other thing I can think of is the CPU and the only way to test that is to take it out and put a different one in.

So I would update the BIOS first from here: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/B150M-A/HelpDesk_Download/

Select whatever OS you have and download the latest version. Normally it comes with a file name change program that automatically changes the file name to something the BIOS ez flash utility can read and you load it onto a flash drive with at least 8gb of free space and update it through the BIOS itself. It doesn't say to do that anywhere here so I would look up exactly how to load that file on the flashdrive for that particular bios update. You can always use the ASUS tech chat to ask how to do it properly as it can corrupt your BIOS if you do it wrong.

Gamersnexus made this video a while back that shows you the exact process for ASUS boards:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Ubqic8XiU


Sorry if you know all this BIOS stuff already.

If this doesn't work I would look into RMAing the board if you can. You said it's 3 years old so I don't know how viable that is.

Already tried updating the BIOS, didn't change anything.
Can't be a compatibility issue between the CPU and GPU since they've worked together with no problems for 3 years...
It's either the PSU or the PCI-E slot imo.
Unfortunately my warranty date has already passed so RMAing it is no longer an option.

I think I'll try going to the store that sold me the 5700 XT (It's an electronics store that also offers PC repairs) with my PC and hopefully they'll be willing to test my PC for free since I bought a GPU from them and I can't use it.

 

[Digicats]

Already tried updating the BIOS, didn't change anything.
Can't be a compatibility issue between the CPU and GPU since they've worked together with no problems for 3 years...
It's either the PSU or the PCI-E slot imo.
Unfortunately my warranty date has already passed so RMAing it is no longer an option.

I think I'll try going to the store that sold me the 5700 XT (It's an electronics store that also offers PC repairs) with my PC and hopefully they'll be willing to test my PC for free since I bought a GPU from them and I can't use it.

Word. I hope they can help.